MR adventures with Mang!
by LE trex
Summary: Powers spring up and maybe romance, too? Mang . . .
1. Chapter 1

Fang, Iggy and I gathered around our fire while the younger kids scavenged nearby stores for the makings of s'mores with my MaxRide card. They had cackled with glee when I handed it to Nudge, and I rolled my eyes. They were probably planning some prank with _my _money. I sighed. Fang looked up at me through the dark hair hanging over his face, his head nearly imperceptibly cocked to he side—curiously. I blushed, then shook my head, indicating it was nothing. I almost wanted to sigh again just so he would look at me like that again. Ugh! Crazy hormonal thoughts . . . I would have to watch myself around Angel. I blushed furiously again, and Fang looked concerned. The great Maximum Ride would never blush! I only wished that were true. Fang's eyes bored into mine, making me suddenly uncomfortable.

I had to get out of here . . . I jumped up, mumbling something about how the kids had been gone awhile, bolted out of the clearing—and ran straight into Nudge. She had bouncing and humming with happiness as she swung the grocery bag on her arm; at least until I unintentionally tackled her in my haste. She stared up at me with huge eyes for a moment, then laughed as she got up and brushed dirt off of her stained clothes. It seemed nothing could bring down her mood. Hmmm, maybe she's up to something . . . The thought flew out of my mind as I remembered why I was leaving. As Angel and Gazzy bounced into the clearing, I grabbed their bags from them and searched for a mistake—anything that would send me to the store—alone. Relieved, I turned to Nudge and said,

"Sweetie, do you really think this is enough for all of us? You could probably eat all of this by yourself! I'm going to buy s'more stuff (A/N: get it? Like some more s'more . . . oh never mind. Carry on.). Be back soon!" I strode into the forest until I realized I didn't have any money. I growled at my stupidity and marched back to where the flock sat, enjoying their s'mores. Angel knew the whole time why I was leaving, and seemed amused. She thought it was funny and odd that I would want to run away from the way Fang made me feel. She didn't understand how something so amazing had to be stopped. I wasn't even quite sure why, myself, but it made my stomach churn, and I had learned to trust my instincts—through experience. I turned to my flock and barked,

"Who has my MaxRide card? Hand it over." Fang shrugged, and Iggy remained motionless. Then Nudge pointed at Gazzy, who then pointed at Angel. She managed to look angelic and sheepish as she reached into her pocket and pulled it out. When she didn't come towards me with it, I raised my eyebrows and held out my hand. She shook her head playfully and ran off.

**Give it to me!!** I screamed in my head as loud as I could. Angel skittered sideways in surprise and her shoulder bonked into a tree, sending the card flying through the air. Gazzy ran over to his sister as Nudge sprinted towards the card. She magnetized it to her hand and ran back to where Fang was sitting with an amused expression on his gorgeous face, and Iggy listening very hard to the footsteps thundering around him. Nudge tossed the card to Fang, who caught it gracefully. Then Iggy asked Nudge what happened, and she dragged him off to where Angel was sitting on the ground, blabbering the whole way. As her voice faded into the distance, I looked at Fang.

"Give me the card." I said impatiently, trying to avoid a real conversation, while hopefully getting myself a ticket to town. I wanted that card! Suddenly, I felt a weight in my hand. I closed my fingers around it and smiled, and looked at Fang gratefully. Then both of our eyebrows furrowed as we glanced from the card in my and to the card in his.

"Wha-a . . ." He mumbled unintelligibly. My mouth was slightly open as it dawned on me that I had a new power!


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry guys, (and gals) but I lost my notebook with all of my ideas—I just moved and it disappeared. I'll have to rewrite the whole thing, which could take a while, so bear with me! Sorry again, but keep checking for updates!


	3. Chapter 3

_. . . it dawned on me that I had a new power . . . _

"Awesome! Fang, give me your jacket." He looked at me. "What're you gonna do?" He asked as he handed over the black cloth. "I think I can duplicate things, or even maybe make things out of thin air . . . I don't know, but I'm going to try." He shrugged, so I sprang into the air and unfurled my speckled wings as I flew up to where the air was cooler.

I wished really hard I had a jacket to cover the goose bumps appearing on my arms. I opened my eyes, and . . . looked at Fang's original jacket in my hand. Hmmm. I used my super-speed to fly back towards to clearing and dropped the jacket on Fang as I flew just over his head before swooping back up into the sky. I closed my eyes again, rubbed my arms and shivered; wishing I had a jacket. I peeked one eye open, then smiled delightedly as I inspected a perfect copy of Fang's jacket. I glided back to the clearing, gesturing wildly at the faces peering curiously through the trees below. I wondered what made them look when I realized I was whooping for joy. Partly because I was flying—my favorite sport, but mostly because I had confirmed my hope—I had a new power!

The flock flew/ran towards where Fang still sat, and gathered around the fire as I told them about what I had discovered. "Oh my gosh that is so cool I wish I had a new power I wonder if you could duplicate a person or something although I think you all would kick me out if there were two of me I think I would rather"— Iggy put a hand over Nudge's mouth, and I glanced at him gratefully, although it was lost on him. Nudge looked hurt, and I sighed. "Ig, take your hand off her mouth. And Nudge? Please think about what you're going to say before you open your mouth. You know it drives us all crazy, but I'm sure you also have a good opinion, so just slow down, okay?" She looked at me solemnly. "Okay," She agreed.

"So you think you can only duplicate something you need or want really bad?" She breathed in as though she was about to say something, but stopped herself. I smiled encouragingly. "Yes, Nudge. Looks like it, because when I wanted the jacket but already had one, it didn't work. Maybe my powers will grow, though . . . I wonder if I could duplicate food . . ." Nudge grinned hugely at the thought. "Could you try . . . please?" Everyone else joined in, even Iggy and Fang, but Iggy's voice was the loudest as he shouted, "I want crackers!!!" It was silent for a moment before we all burst out laughing and giggling. Even Fang let out a low chuckle. I didn't even know why it was funny. "What, they're salty!" Iggy started defensively.

I jumped in before the situation escalated. "Sure, Ig. Some crackers would be fine." I closed my eyes and concentrated on crunchy, salty, wonderful crackers . . . suddenly there were crackers in my hand and all over the forest floor. "Whoops!" I giggled. "Maybe I should've thought of a box." I didn't think anyone even heard my over Iggy's groans of happiness as he stuffed the crackers into his mouth. "I think he may need some water after this." Angel said sweetly, looking amused. "Sure thing, hon." I tried to see if I could do it without my eyes closed. My eyes rested on Fang as I wanted water, wanted water, oh wh was I kidding, I wanted him!

Uh oh . . . another Fang popped into existence not a foot away from the real one.


	4. Chapter 4

_. . . another Fang popped into existence not a foot away from the real one . . . _

Both Fangs looked at each other intensely for a few long moments while the rest of us held our breaths, except Iggy.

"Did somebody just magically appear? I hear someone else breathing, but no approach. Somebody talk to me! I still want some water . . ." Nudge looked at him.

""Max just made another Fang and now both Fang's are staring at each other funny. That's about all you missed." Iggy's jaw slowly dropped until he shook his head in awe/surprise, then pulled himself out of it as he said,

"So how 'bout that water?"

"Um, hold on a sec, Ig. Let's wait until we're sure he's . . . they're okay." Fang1 and Fang2 slowly raised their hands to each other, and did the strangest thing—they started playing patty cake! They were a mirror image of one another, moving slowly at first, then picking up speed. Suddenly they punched each other, and managed to frown and grimace at the same time. Very slowly, Fang1 brought up his leg to kick "himself", but Fang2 blocked it. They both smiled triumphantly. Weird. No, beyond weird. More like possessed. I waited for an explanation.

"So, I guess there're two of me." They said simultaneously. The rest of the flock stared wide-eyed at them until I spoke up.

"Yeah, I guess so . . . Hey, what's up with the whole patty cake thing? I find it hard to believe that you spontaneously wanted to play, and then just as sporadically wanted to fight, so . . . what's up?" I tried not to sound freaked out.

"Well," They began together, "I was testing myself. It's like there's only one of me, but I have two bodies, ya know? It's hard to get both of me to move independently though—like rubbing your stomach and patting your head at the same time."

"Uh huh . . ." I said oh-so-smartly as I processed the new info. "So, um . . . do you want me to try to undo it?" Angel took the opportunity to cut in.

"I don't think you should try on Fang first, Max. What if you make more of him? Or make both of them disappear? Why don't you start with his jacket? Although, he might need two of them now." She giggled.

"Good idea, Ange. Let's do this!" I grabbed Fang's second jacket and stepped into a patch of sunlight—maybe if I didn't need or want the jacket my gift would work in reverse. Good thought, to no avail. I sighed and threw the jacket to Fang1, who caught it gracefully. He beamed at Fang2.

"Looks like we're stuck with the two of you for good, or at least until my power grows or something." I tried to sound cheerful.

"Hey, Max!" Started Gazzy, " weren't you trying to make water? Maybe your power is unpredictable, like it randomly duplicates stuff near you, like Fang! But I thought you made the jacket on purpose, because you wanted it? So you can make stuff you want?" Suddenly Iggy guffawed and started slapping his knee. Angel looked confused, then her eyes widened. Oh dear, I was hoping to avoid this conversation. Gazzy was the only one confused about the fact that Iggy was implying that I wanted Fang, thank God. The rest of the flock thought it was funny. Fang raised an eyebrow at me. Dear god.

I stood up abruptly and began picking up the trash strewn about our campsite—mostly just containers that used to hold food. We had been living large lately—the Erasers seemed to have stopped attacking us for the time being. Something told me it was the calm before the storm. That's why I insisted on staying outside rather than checking into hotels we had more than enough money to stay in due to my MaxRide card. Hotels gave me the creeps.

**Trust your instincts, Max.**

Does that mean I'm doing the right thing? I mean, I'm kinda concerned about the younger kids—they look exhausted all the time, and I know they love hotels"—

**Kids need time to relax—so do you. **

Wait—that's contradictory, isn't it? How can we relax without staying at a hotel?! "Oh."

**Very good, Max. **

I realized what the Voice meant—we needed to find a comfortable spot that we all felt safe in . . . like my mom's house! I smiled, then turned to face the flock.

"Hey, guys! Let's get this show on the road! Ig and Gazz on fire patrol, Nudge and Ange on cleanup, and Fang, you just try not to hurt yourself. We're going to Dr. M's!" My news was received with whoops of joy, and even Fang seemed to get over the slight I had thrown at him. Hmmm. I oversaw chores being done, then directed my flock into the sky. We had been flying without incident, until . . .


	5. Chapter 5

_We had been flying without incident, until . . . _

Nudge whined. Again.

"I'm huuunngggrrrryyyyy! Can we stop?! I think there's a town ahead . . . we could even go shopping! That would be fun—we're almost out of clothes. Speaking of clothes, could I have that sweatshirt you never wear and is practically too small for you Max? Although maybe we should get to Dr. Mar"—She caught herself mid-rant and looked apologetically at the flock.

"Sure, hon. And consider that sweatshirt yours! Ig, you go to the store with Gazzy and one Fang to refill on supplies. Here's my card . . . just because you would be too conspicuous with you too together." I said to the Fangs because they looked at me questioningly.

"It can be practice for you to move independently." They nodded and flew off, perfectly synchronized. I sighed—this could be interesting. As if sensing my thoughts, Fang's wings started to beat opposite each other, and then they flew off in different directions before soaring back to the flock. This might actually work . . . I was distracted by the deep purple/black of his magnificent wings. Wow. I would _never _tire of watching him . . . I blushed as I felt Angel in my mind.

**Privacy please?! Geez, I'm a teenage girl! What d'you expect? Just hormones, carry on. And stay outta my head! **

_Yikes. Defensive much? _I glared at her. The voice took this opportunity to cut in.

All things happen for a reason, Max. 

**Oh, really? Then why on ****Earth**(watching my language for Angel, who looked at me mischievously at me just then) **did I grow up in a ****cage****? And why are there two Fangs flying behind me right now?! Is this all predetermined? **I asked sarcastically.

Yes. Ugh. I flew faster as if I could outrun the stupid Voice. I knew I couldn't, but flying fast _was _fun. I eased on my super speed and before I knew it my flock was barely a dot on the horizon. Whoops.


	6. Chapter 6

_Whoops . . . _

I flew back to them in seconds (was my super speed getting faster?) just as they started their descent.

"Ig, Gaz and Fang—split now before we land!" I shouted over the wind in our ears caused by the angle of our descent. They veered off to the south as the rest of us continued west; more directly toward town. We ran to a stop and put our sweatshirts on to cover our wings before we walked out from behind clothing store. I saw what it was first, so I sighed, then motioned for them to go in. I knew Nudge was right about our clothes, as much as I hated shopping.

"Here we go again." I mumbled as Nudge tore into the store like a dog going after a meaty bone.

_You don't have to get anything Max. I can even mind control the people to close the store if Nudge won't leave. _I was slightly alarmed.

**No! Only use that power if we're in danger, or maybe as a prank at an **_**appropriate **_**time. **I gave her a stern look, at which she nodded solemnly until something pink and fluffy caught her eye in aisle two. She subsequently ran off. I sighed. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Maybe I really did need to relax. I wandered over to the sportswear section, sorting through the stretchy materials for something good in a fight. I suspected they were trying to lull us into a false sense of security before they pulled out the big guns. Ugh. I grabbed a couple pairs of long stretchy black pants that would hopefully fit me for a while, then steered myself towards where Nudge and Angel seemed to be in a heated discussion about whether the color black goes with brown.

"But black goes with everything!" Angel wailed.

"They're both so dark, it's stupid to put them together. Black should be put with a color that pops . . ."

"Black goes with tan! Tan is like a light brown!"

"No. Tan is tan, brown is brown." I tuned them out and went to look for Fang. I found him staring at a rack of purses. What the  ? 

"Hey Fang! I think that green one goes with your eyes. Or the pink one! It highlights the slight blush of your skin tone. It could be your _man_ purse. We could call it a murse! Murse . . . I just crack myself up sometimes . . ." (AN: The murse is mine!) Fang seemed to snap out of it at my uncharacteristic chuckling.

"What did you say about a murse? Whatever. Sorry for zoning out, it's just weird to be away from my other body . . . It's like I can see two televisions that are both of me, but if I get too sucked into one and what's happening in only one of my experiences the other one just zones out or mimics whatever I'm doing." The length of his speech surprised me.

"Okay . . . Sorry I made you split up. I didn't know . . . Hey, why don't we meet up with you and the guys at the nearest McDonalds? I'll get the girls. You just . . . don't move." He had already switched to his other body, probably to relay the info. Weird. I hurried over to where Angel and Nudge were still talking about whether black goes with brown. For goodness sake!

"You know what? I guess it just depends on what colors you like and what goes with your skin tone, okay?!" They seemed satisfied, so I grabbed their cart and wheeled it toward the front of the store. On our way, I grabbed Fang's arm and dragged him with us. I guessed he functioned best when his 'twin' was with him. . . interesting. The thought flew out of my head as Fang came to life and snapped at me.

"Geez, I can walk on my own!" Sure you can.

"Oh, really? What's the other Fang doing right now?" Could he move independently? I hoped so. I was starting to feel terribly guilty about what I had done to him.

"Um, well, we're both walking in straight lines, so that makes it easier. I can kind of see out of both bodies now, like a bird! You know how some birds have eyes on either side of their heads, so they see two scenes at the same time? Wow, that's ironic. A bird! Ha!" I was shocked by the length of his speech and by how he was progressing. It had also been a long time since he made a joke. He seemed to zone out for a minute, then I noticed that Angel had a squinchy (AN: squinchy is mine too!) look on her face that she usually got when she was mind talking, or sometimes when she would . . . never mind. Anyway, I was trying to figure out who she was talking to. All I knew so far was that it wasn't me.

_Do you __want__ me to talk to you?_

**No, it's fine—go ahead. By the way, who **_**were**_** you talking to?**

_Fang! Apparently, it's easier to mind control an unconscious body. _

**What do you mean? **She didn't answer directly, but grinned evilly. Suddenly, Fang started doing the Macarena—humming along. Soon his humming burst out into full-throated singing, but I could barely hear the words over my own laughter.


	7. Chapter 7

_. . . I could barely hear the words over my own laughter . . . _

I eventually stopped my hysterics, and tried to glare sternly at Angel. She grinned, but Fang stopped. I smiled. He would never hear the end of this, even it wasn't technically him doing it. Suddenly Fang whipped around and growled at Angel, making her squeal and run full speed toward the nearest exit. I guess there were murderous thoughts in his head. Whatever, I knew he wouldn't hurt her. Plus, his double body would probably just make him trip.

I checked out of the store with Nudge using my duplicated card, which worked perfectly. Nudge was piled up with bags—good thing she was strong. I figured Angel and Fang would show up at McDonalds before long—after a run like that, they had to be hungry. I smiled again at the thought of Fang doing the Macarena, but before I could chuckle, I saw a second Fang running past, on the heels of the first one. Hmm.

My diminished group (Nudge and myself) walked into McDonalds, where we spotted Iggy and Gazzy already chowing down at a table near the back. We wandered over to them, our scanning the room for Erasers. Fifteen of the twenty tables were filled with parents and their kids. One table was filled with teens, but the rest were empty. No Erasers to be found. Hmph. Looking at the families, I felt a pang of loneliness. The kids looked so innocent, if naïve. All they were worried about was if there was enough ketchup on their burgers. Sigh.

Iggy heard my footsteps and looked up apologetically.

"Sorry Max—we were _super_ hungry and thought it might be easier for y'all to have some food while you waited for your own?" He made that last part a question, and he seemed to be improvising on how to put it in a positive light. Gazzy nodded furiously.

"Yup! Just a selfless act, on behalf of the flock as a whole." (AN: get it? Be_half_, whole?! Never mind. Bad joke. Carry on.) Gazzy stated. Whatever. Might as well take care of the unintentional offer, I thought to myself as I graciously accepted and dumped a container of fries down my throat. At that moment the rest of the flock walked in, reminding me to save some for them. I noticed both Fangs were smirking and giving each other knowing looks, so it seemed their revenge on Angel was only just beginning.

I couldn't deny, at least to myself, that I was falling for him. I kept getting frustrated at myself for running away every time he "made a move". Stupid hormones! Both of us—make that _all _of us—should focus on saving the world, whatever that meant. Nudge, Fang, and Iggy went to order the flock some more food. Some kid a few tables down started playing his Ipod **really **loud. Loud enough for me with my hawk-hearing to get a huge headache, at least. Nobody else seemed bothered, though. Maybe it's a brain attack, I thought to myself. I held my chocolate milkshake to my temples alternately, but it did nothing to stop the waves of pain. I groaned and spoke to the flock.

"I'm going out for a quick spin. (Our public-situation code for flying.) Fang, come? Be back in a min . . ." For some reason I wanted Fang with me. Maybe for comfort? Geez I had grown dependant on him. I waved distractedly and bolted out the doors, Fang hot on my heels. (AN: Get it? _Hot?!_) We ran behind the restaurant and tore off the sweatshirts, which had concealed our wings. We took off. . . ah, sweet bliss! Soon I needed to go faster.

"Fang, grab my feet and see if you two can go super-speed with me . . ." The rest of my sentence was snatched away by the wind as I accelerated in the sky.

"Aaarrgghhh!" I heard a most un-Fang-like noise behind me. I craned my neck around to see both Fangs motioning frantically for me to slow down, then they let go. I felt strangely sad I felt their muscled hands slide away from my ankles. Whoa, Nelly! We glided to a stop in a random secluded clearing, and both Fangs wordlessly trotted over to the backpack on my shoulders and pulled some water bottles out of it. I must've looked confused because they explained.

"You started . . . my mouth, was open . . . very dry . . . need water!" With that they continued chugging my last reserves. Finally, it looked like they could talk.

"Next time, close mouth." I almost giggled. Of course I didn't, though. I'm Maximum Ride, for goodness sakes! Anyway, would it kill Fang to speak in full sentences? No! Ugh. Speaking of speeches . . .

"Hey, uh, Fang?" They looked at me expectantly.

"Well, I just, uh . . . wanted to say we should get back?" Their eyes narrowed. Why was I such a coward? No. Not a coward. If Maximum Ride could save the world (or try to!) she could definitely admit her feelings to a fellow mutant.

I took a deep breath, and cleared my throat.


	8. Chapter 8

_I took a deep breath, and cleared my throat . . . _

"You know, I want to have a real talk with you, but talking to the two of you is distracting me." I suddenly felt sorry for doing this to him, and desperately wanted him whole again. Nearly as soon as the thought entered my head, one Fang disappeared! The remaining Fang looked a bit shocked, and I realized I had done this without letting him in on my thought process. Whoops!

"It's okay, Fang, I just wanted to talk to one of you, and obviously found out I can make stuff un-duplicate. Cool, right?" I started to get excited, but I suddenly remembered what I was trying to say. It sobered me up straight away. Right. Back to business. Again, my thought process was interrupted by Fang, who was jumping around to make sure what had happened was real. I loved to see him so happy. In fact, I loved to see him in every other emotion, too. I might even flat out love him. Not that I would admit it.

"So, what I was trying to say . . ." Then I realized that a perfect opportunity to get out of a very awkward situation had just past me by. D'arvit! In the meantime, Fang (the one, singular (thank goodness) Fang) was looking at me expectantly. How was I going to get out of this one? This brought me back to my internal coward conversation. Ugh. Alright, so did being vulnerable mean being brave, or stupid? There was a fine line, and I wasn't sure on which side the potential conversation would fall on. Best to go with my gut, I guessed.

"Alright, so here's what I think." I found it weird to be brusque and romantic at the same time. Whatever.

"I think that we like each other, or at least I like you. I'm tired of not knowing, and I think rejection would be better than a random kiss, then nothing. So . . . what d'you say?" Silence. Fang seemed to be caught off guard. Coupled with the fact that this was forbidden territory, and that he didn't talk much, he was rendered speechless.

"Hello? I practically just laid my heart bare and you don't even say anything? You know, if this is a relationship, I think we need to work on our communication." I was starting to get angry.

"Fine, you know what? Forget I said anything. I thought maybe you could handle a _mature_ conversation, but obviously not. So why don't you just"—. I was cut off as he realized he had better speak up or just let me ruin the remains of our relationship.

"Hold your horses! I didn't even say anything!"

"Exactly! You just can't handle"--. He cut me off again.

"Just stop, alright? So here's _my_ truth. I like you too! Jeez."

"Well why didn't you just spit it out? You left me hanging and that is _so_ unfair! You should at least speak up once in a while and let me know what you're thinking. You can be so _pigheaded _sometimes!"

"Oh, so this is now a name-calling contest? Fine! I think you are . . . you are . . . I don't know. I have a headache." I laughed.

"That's your excuse? You have a _headache?_ Doesn't having a headache make people irritable, anyway?!" I started to become suspicious. Then I noticed Fang blushing. _Blushing!_

"Well, I couldn't think of anything wrong with you. The truth is all I could think of was that you were perfect and beautiful and strong. I'm sorry, but that's just the way I feel." He added indignantly. Suddenly, I burst out laughing.

"You do realize that we both admitted that we liked each other, right? Dear God!" More giggles. I didn't even really know why I was laughing. Maybe it was because I felt lightheaded in a good way. A really good, almost funny way. Thus the laughing. It was cut short however, when Fang planted himself inches from me. Oh God. Why was he standing this close? Oh. The answer dawned on me as one arm slipped around my waist, while the other ran itself through my hair. Suddenly, his lips were moving on mine, and instinctively I responded. Good thing we had air sacs! The kiss lasted longer because of it, but eventually came to a close as I realized how he had become such a good kisser. Jealousy coursed through my veins, so I pulled away.

"You and Lissa are over, right?" I couldn't help that the irrational question escaped my lips. Now it was Fang's turn to laugh.

"O'course! Jeez . . . girls!" With that, he leaned in again. Even though I longed for more, I stopped him by pushing against his warm, chiseled chest . . . anyway.

"What about the flock? Wouldn't that be awkward? What if it doesn't work out, and the flock has to split up again?" Possibilities flooded my mind.

"Don't worry! The flock will always stay together. I'll even promise you that we won't break up, at least until we both want to, and then it'll be a peaceful breakup, and we can go back to being friends again!" Well, that sounded nice, and Fang _never_ broke his promises.

"Okay. Sounds good. No more kissing, though. We really do need to get back. Wanna try super-speed?" He shrugged. We leapt into the air. My heart was content. Maybe I curse myself by thinking these thoughts because as soon as I did, a chopper full of Erasers came up through the noise muffling clouds.


	9. Chapter 9

I'm not sure if I should continue . . . I will if you review, though! I don't want to be the type who asks for reviews every time, but I need feedback. Have suggestions? They're welcome! And sorry for the false update . . .


	10. Chapter 10

_. . . a chopper full of Erasers came up through the noise muffling clouds._

Oh great. Just what I needed at this perfect moment—a healthy dose of reality. I was surprised when Flyboys didn't jump out and attack us. These guys were actually Erasers. What, now they were downgrading? Maybe the Frankenwings didn't work out too well for them. I any case, I was even _more_ surprised when one of them pulled out a megaphone and began shouting into it, presumably at us. I gave Fang a _what-the-hell?_ look before saying out loud,

"Should we see what they're trying to say? It doesn't look like they have guns, and the most there could be in that thing is like, ten. So it shouldn't be a problem if it turns into a fight." Fang looked appraisingly at them, then nodded decisively.

"Yeah, get closer." We swooped cautiously nearer to the helicopter, trying to make out what the Eraser was saying. Unfortunately, our sensitive hearing didn't take well to the sound of the chopper's blades swishing through the air, and we couldn't hear anything. The Erasers still looked earnest enough—like they were honestly trying to communicate. I trusted my gut, as I can smell bullshit from a mile away. I mouthed expressively, _I can't hear!!!_ while covering my ears. I hoped the Erasers got the message, but they continued talking into the megaphone. Whatever. If they really wanted to talk, they would follow me.

I gestured to Fang that we land, and he answered by pulling in his wings and plummeting to Earth. Well, that's _one _way to do it. I preferred a more gentle, gliding descent. I swooped in circles downward, until my toes were dragging on the ground. I was hit by inspiration at the last minute, so I kept gliding right toward Fang. At first he looked ecstatic to see me, then a bit concerned at the speed at which I was approaching. His eyes barely had time to widen before I slammed into him, and we toppled to the ground, laughing. At least _I_ was laughing. Fang was shaking, so I took that to be laughter.

We bird kids had learned to be playful in the most stressful situations, because kids are playful, and our lives were part of one, big, stressful situation. This was no different. We managed to laugh even as I heard a helicopter full of potential killers land right behind us. Alright, back to business. I rolled over in the grass, and looked up at the wobbly helicopter as twelve Erasers hopped out. Well I've never been much of a guestimator, but even twelve I was sure we could handle. Most of the Erasers were in their human form, which meant they weren't full of rage. I wish I had my mind reader . . . oh well. It looked like they were about to make their intentions known, anyway. The one with the megaphone stepped forward.

"Come with us willingly or we'll make you come. By force." He added menacingly. Like I haven't heard that before. I was about to either lunge and attack, or fly off when a thought struck me.

"Why?" The question stumped him for a moment, for which he stared at me blankly. Fang sent me my own _what-the-hell? _look. I nodded at him, signifying I had a plan. Which I didn't. But he didn't have to know that, because I didn't need a plan. I am the infamous Max Ride! What could go wrong? Wrong question. But not the one I was pondering. I was still waiting for a response. The guy had apparently finished thinking.

"Well, those are my orders." He said proudly, as if to say, _you can't get around that logic!_ Oh yes, I can. Just watch me . . .

"Who ordered you?" I asked bluntly. You know, utter honesty can confuse people so much, it's fun!

"A doctor. I'm not supposed to say who." Oh, so this was one of the overgrown seven-year-olds. Well, I knew seven-year-olds better than anyone. Let's see if he can dodge _this._

"Ooooh! So it's like, a game?" I asked cutely.

"Uhhh." He wasn't sure what to think of that, so I kept going.

"Is it a woman?" He shook his head no. Alright! It looked like this might work . . .

"Is he called by a cool name like _The Director_ or is it just a regular Dr. (Blank)?"

"Just regular." He said. This guessing game could take a while.

"So . . . does his name start with an A?" He shook his head no again. I might as well start at the beginning of the alphabet. I would be pissed off if he were, like, Dr. 439 or something.

"Does it start with a B?" He nodded yes! Uh-oh. It couldn't be . . .

"It is Dr. Batchelder?" He nodded again. D'arvit! That scheming, slimy, traitorous little jerk! Breathe, Max. Breathe. Fang squeezed my shoulder sympathetically. I was practically shaking with anger.

"Can I speak with him?" Everyone looked at me in surprise. Even Fang. I decided to elaborate.

"Don't you have him on a phone or something, so you can like, tell him how his mission is going?" The main guy nodded.

"Exactly! So can I talk to him?" They seemed unsure, but the main guy pulled out an earpiece from behind his bushy sideburn. He threw it to me, and I tried not to throw up as I felt my hands close around his earwax. Gross! I improvised the mantra _I've eaten desert rat and I'm alive. I've eaten desert rat and I'm alive. I've eaten . . . _as I put the piece up to my ear. Now I felt kind of stupid.

"Um, hello?" Jeb answered.

"Hey, Max! How's life?"

"Pretty sucky at the moment, thanks to you!" He chuckled.

"Max, you don't understand. We have plans for you! Just comply, for once?" He sounded whiny by the end.

"What kind of plans?" I asked suspiciously. Jeb seemed surprised I was so forward. Welcome to teenage hormones, folks!

"Well, we can't tell you." Now I chuckled.

"So you're asking me to step blind and trusting into what we both know is a trap? Yeah, right. I might even come with you willingly, as long as I know what I'm up against." There was a thoughtful silence at the other end.

"Fine. We want to do experiments."

"Of course you do. That's not my question. What _kind_ of experiments?"

"Well, to be perfectly honest, we want to see you procreate." Now it was my turn to be speechless. For a moment, anyway. Then the anger kicked in. Again.

"Are you kidding? I'm fourteen! Can't this wait, like, ten years! I thought you were trying to win my cooperation! Well, It's not working. I'm tired of running, and I thought maybe we could work something out. But not . . . _that. _I mean, why is this an emergency, anyway? Can't it just happen on its own someday? How about that? When it happens, I'll call you, deal?"

"You're not in a position to make deals, Maximum. And truthfully, that's not the only test we wanted to do. We need you here. For the sake of science!"

"Well, what other tests would you want to do?"

"You see, we did all sorts of endurance tests in your youth, but we need to test your intelligence, speed, and height limits."

"Well, why didn't you say so?" I launched into the air and flew upward as fast as I could. The air got thin, fast. My super-speed took me miles above Earth, and I kept going until I was too cold, and getting too thin to breathe. Too tired to fly down, I tucked in my wings and plummeted like Fang had done earlier. At the last moment, I pulled out my wings, and came to a running stop where Fang and the Erasers Were.

They seemed content to wait out my conversation, so I kept going. I spoke into he microphone once more.

"So how's that for speed and height, eh? As for intelligence, my math skills tell me that me plus my flock equals way more than you can handle. My logic tells me that you're trying to take advantage of me. And my spelling is stellar this year: F-U-C-K Y-O-U!" With that, I ripped the gooey earpiece out of my ear and tossed it back to its owner before Jeb had a chance to respond, although I did hear him trying to cut in during my speech. But I didn't care—I was wonderful. Fuck him!


	11. Chapter 11

_Fuck him! _

Fang poked me in the arm.

"Should we go?" He asked. The Erasers did seem distracted at the moment, but . . .

"Well, I'm trying to make a deal here. Let's see if they want to cooperate. Besides, we can handle these guys if it comes o a fight. You know, we're probably a lot stronger than they realize. Why else would they only send, like, twelve guys?" The thought bolstered my confidence, but then Fang spoke up.

"Well, maybe it's a trap, or they knew we wouldn't want to fight. Either way, I wouldn't underestimate them. Let's just be on alert, and make sure they don't call for backup or something." I nodded my agreement, and with that, we fell into silence—listening to the Eraser's conversation.

"_Can't we just shoot them? We have tranquilizing guns in the back, I think."_ Said a guy with sandy blond hair who looked like he could be a runaway model.

"_Well, our orders are to get the whole group, so we could just let these ones go, then follow them to the rest . . ." _Pondered the leader dude. Though it was amusing to watch them work it out, I deemed this the time to cut in.

"Or, you could ask us to come with you, we could say no, and we could all fight and get it over with." The LD (leader dude) spoke up.

"No—we will not fight you. We are not supposed to engage in combat, for you are to stay at your current fighting level until the next stage of the plan." Now I'm confused.

"So how are you planning on getting us to comply?" These particular Erasers seemed honest and willing enough, so I might as well take advantage.

"I don't know. We are designed to improvise." Okay then, I didn't want to give him time to _improvise_, so I decide it was time to fly the coup.

"Well tell Jeb to keep in touch, alright? Until then, just leave us alone." With that I gave the signal, and Fang and I were in the air once more. Sweet freedom! I glanced behind for any sign of pusuit, but the Erasers seemed to be arguing about their next plan of action.

"Hey Fang!"

"Uh, yeah?"

"I love—"

**Sorry for the shortness—duty calls. Give me ideas, people! Sorry, I'm suffering writer's block, and I have, like, twenty stories that want to be written, and a certain controlling person in my life who thinks that being on the computer kills brain cells. Hello-o-o! Creativity is the best thing for the brain, yeah? Whatever. Tengo que ir. . . **


	12. Chapter 12

I love . . . it when we're a team."

I said lamely. Why couldn't I just say I love him?! Maybe because this was _so _not the right time. The words just keep running through my head—that was the closest I've ever come to saying it though. I shivered. I have to be more careful! I peeked a glance at him, but he was staring off into the distance, looking thoughtful. Hmmm. I wish I knew what to do all the time.

_Um, hello? You have an all-knowing voice here!_

Right—a voice _so _willing to impart useful information, right?

_I'll tell you what—I will answer ten questions, whatever they might be, truthfully. _

What? Seriously? Cool! Well, I'm not going to ask right now—I need time to think. Jeez. What should I ask? Maybe something like, how do I save the world? I'll have to be super specific, though. The voice is a master at talking in infuriating circles. Maybe if the voice is a person, I should just go to this person and strangle more than ten answers out of him. It could be one of my questions—are you human? If so, where can I find you? I wonder if that counts as two . . .

_Do you want me to answer that?_

Uh . . . sure.

_I am a person, and you can find me . . . well . . . in New York. The city. _

This sent me reeling. How could a random person in New York be an all-knowing voice in my head? I had to find out. This was a perfect opportunity to leave the Erasers, anyway. I briefly plunged into super-speed, bursting ahead of Fang towards the restaurant where I could see the flock through the window. I landed, threw on my sweatshirt, and practically ran inside. Angel saw me first, then the flock hammered me with questions.

"Where did you go?"

"What took you so long?"

"Where's Fang?" I tried to cut them off with my famous glare, but they all seemed temporarily immune. However, Fang walking in breathlessly at that moment—windblown and gorgeous. That obviously satisfied some of the discontent at the table, but most questions were still unanswered.

"What _happened??"_ Nudge decided to clarify. I took a breath.

"Well, we ran into some Erasers—they shouldn't be a problem, so don't worry. _And," _Fang looked at me incredulously, as if to say, _Are you crazy? We didn't decide to tell them! I—I don't know what I'll say. I wasn't prepared . . . _I winked at him and kept going.

"_And, _I had an interesting conversation with my voice. It . . . kinda told me to go to NYC. Again." Nudge, Angel and Total looked excited. The guys didn't look too opposed, so I decided to go ahead.

"Apparently, I'm supposed to meet my voice there." Everyone looked confused, and Gazzy spoke up.

"So—wait. Your voice is a person? In New York City?" I nodded.

"Whoa! Cool."

"Also, the voice said it would answer nine more questions, truthfully, so if you guys have any suggestions, let me know, okay? Any question always unanswered, the voice can help. How about one question for each flock member? I've already used mine. After that, we'll brainstorm together. Sound good?" Everyone nodded.

"Great. Then we'll finish up here, and hit the road!" With that, we all settled down to eat.

**Which questions should the flock ask? Who should the Voice be? Suggestions are welcome . . . so review please. You are one click and a couple words away from being on my favorite-person list . . . **


	13. Chapter 13

. . . _we all settled down to eat. _

Without much of a hassle, we left McDonalds and took to the air. Nudge was spouting enthusiasm about the trip—it was a one-woman show. For once I was grateful for the chatter, as Fang kept looking at me as though he wanted to say something. I was glad we were finally kind of together, but I didn't know how to proceed. I decided to launch on a safe topic—Erasers.

"So Fang, what do you think that Eraser meant about our fighting level?"

"Um, maybe they're building more Erasers according to our skill level, so the current ones wouldn't be able to beat us if we improved." Wow. Good thought.

"That makes sense . . . so should we try to fight better or something?"

"That might be their plan, although I don't see how it could hurt." I smiled mischievously. I missed the old days of training with Jeb and the flock.

"Alright, guys. Let's stop in an hour or so at a hotel, then tomorrow we'll be able to fly the rest to NYC." The last part of my thought disappeared in the cheers about going to a hotel. Whatever. I was already getting tired from flying all day, so I coasted behind Iggy in his air-stream. We flew in silence until Gazzy spotted a Marriot in the middle of the city we were flying over.

"Good eye, Gazzy!" I said encouragingly. I swooped down into an unlit ally a few blocks from the hotel—it was the nearest spot where we could land unnoticed. The rest of the flock landed around me, and we walked in the direction of the hotel. We didn't notice the boy leaning against the side of one of the buildings until he spoke up.

"W-who are y-you?" I spoke to Fang in a voice too quiet for human ears to hear.

"Should we do the angel thing again?" I asked almost hopefully, referring to the time in Virginia when we convinced these two guys that we were angels just so we could leave the house in relative peace. Fang shook his head, smirking. I almost pouted. It was so fun! Then Angel spoke up in a creepy/mind-controlling voice.

"We are an illusion, and you don't believe we are real." The boy nodded slowly—he looked to be about thirteen. We hustled out of the ally before he could protest. We were halfway to the Marriot when I saw the same kid walking behind us. Uggh! I turned and put my hand on my hip.

"What do you want?" I asked accusingly. He shuffled his feet.

"I wanted to see where you were going, because I have a feeling I should follow you. See, as soon as I prayed to God for a sign, you swooped down from the heavens. So even though I know you're not real people, you can't leave—you're my angels!"

I glanced at Fang, as if to say, _It turns out he thinks we're angles anyway! _He smirked. The rest of the flock just looked shocked. As for me, I had no idea what to say.

"You prayed to God for a sign? Why?" He looked eager to engage in conversation.

"I ran away a week ago, and I've been thinking about killing myself. I'm very Christian, so I thought I'd ask God." What the _Hell?_

"If you're Christian, isn't killing yourself a bad thing?" I asked. He nodded furiously.

"That's exactly my problem! So, can you help?" My eyes wheeled to the flock. They looked content to have me handle this one. Fine.

"Well, I don't think you should kill yourself. Do you have anywhere to go?"

"Besides the place I ran away from, no. It was an orphanage." Jeez. Should we take him in? We can't! But if his life was so bad he wanted to kill himself . . .

"I need a moment to . . . confer with my fellow . . . angels, okay?" He nodded—willing to wait. Great. I spoke up first.

"Well, we obviously can't take him with _us."_ Then Iggy spoke.

"No one we know will take him in, either." Then Gazzy.

"Why can't he just go back to where he came from?" Angel answered.

"His thoughts about it are . . . not pretty. We can't let him go back there." We all accepted this as the truth—from the lips of a mind reader. That left us with no options. I had a brief thought of just leaving him, but I felt strangely responsible for the kid. He was pretty young, after all.

"Don't you have any friends or something?" He shook his head sadly.

"Well then, what do you expect us to do?" He looked almost ready to cry. Jeez.

"I don't know! That's why I was _praying!_ You're no help at all!" He ended accusingly. Then Fang turned to me.

"We could just keep him with us for the night, and drop him somewhere tomorrow. It'll give us time to think." Why not? I turned to him.

"What's your name?"

"Johnny."

"Well, Johnny—looks like you're staying with us for a bit. Just for the night, though. We're going to the Marriot nearby. Do you know where it is?" He nodded.

"Then lead the way." He walked forward slowly, glancing behind to make sure we didn't disappear. We all shuffled in silence, wondering what we got ourselves into. It didn't last long, though. Nudge was the first to introduce herself.

"I'm Nudge. That's my name. But if you want, you can call me Tiffany or Anastasia, or even Nicole. Basically any name that's long or elegant. Like a princess name!" I tuned her out until her speech was a pleasant white noise in the relative silence in our group. Johnny was especially quiet, and seemed to be pondering who-knows-what. The flock all looked exhausted, so when we came to the hotel I ushered them into the waiting area while I went up to the front desk to get a room.

The woman at the front desk looked soft and old—probably not a threat. This analysis being done, I turned to the conversation. She was speaking.

"Welcome to the Marriot! I hope your stay is pleasant. The elevator is to your left and down the hall. We also serve a complementary breakfast, and other meals are at the restaurant over there." She pointed with her long, manicured finger to a dark bar-type place over my shoulder. Then she paused in her speech and took a good, long look at me. I shifted uncomfortably.

"Are you sure you are old enough to get a room? Are your parents around?" Well, my missionary story wouldn't work this time, so I'd have to be creative. I drew myself up to my full height of nearly six feet and looked her straight in the eye.

"Excuse me? I'm twenty years old, and I'd like three rooms, please!" She looked at me doubtfully.

"Three rooms, miss?" I was starting to get aggravated.

"Yes, three! My family and I need a place to crash. Will you give it to us or not?" When I mentioned my family, she peered past me at the gangly kids sprawled on the waiting chairs. When I held out my card, though, she shrugged and ran it through.

"Alright, you have three adjoining rooms on the fifth floor. Room service is available any time." She added faintly before shoving six room-keys into my hands, as though afraid the manager might see her. I spun on my heel and motioned the flock to follow me. Nudge glided forward dreamily, while Gazzy walked like a zombie after her. Iggy was slowly following Gazzy's footsteps, and Johnny trudged toward the elevator. Fang nodded toward Angel's sleeping body, then picked her up steadily, while making his way towards where the flock and Johnny were waiting—holding the elevator door.


	14. Chapter 14

Once we were all inside, Nudge pressed the (5) button, and the doors closed. We lurched upwards for a few seconds, then stopped. The doors opened on the second floor, and three members of the Red Hat Club walked in. Oh, jeez. The claustrophobia started to set in, and I think I started to hyperventilate. Fang put his arm around me. It was sweet, but it only made me feel more smothered. I tried to take deep breaths as the doors closed once more, and we lurched up another floor. No!!! We stopped again on the third floor, and a couple strode in, while the Red Hat Ladies walked out. Thank God! Unfortunately, we stopped again on the fourth floor, where I swear half a football team poured in. Why me? My breathing came in short, ragged gasps. One of the huge guys pressed the (2) button, and I think I actually whimpered. When we slid down to the second level and the guys walked out, I lurched after them.

"I'll take the stairs." I said to my flock before the doors closed again. I took a deep breath, then wandered—where were the stairs? I eventually located a maid, so I asked her. As it turns out, she spoke Spanish, so she wasn't a big help. I ended up almost falling down the stairs, trying to get out of the way of ten kids playing tag—running down the hallways. What is this, the Twilight Zone? Jeez. Well, it was a help anyway, because I found the stairs. I trudged up them, and hopped out at the fifth floor. Finally!

I found the flock and Johnny standing in the hallway, tapping their feet. Angel was still in Fang's arms. Whoops! I forgot I had all the keys . . .

"Sorry, guys! Here you go." I said as I handed them out to the grasping fingers. Then I stopped.

"Hold on. Rooming assignments? We have one extra here." I pointed to Johnny. He spoke.

"I don't really care, honestly. Wherever there's room, I'll go." I nodded.

"How about this: Nudge and Angel, Gazzy and . . . Iggy, Fang, Johnny, and me." Fang looked surprised.

"Why can't you just room with Nudge and Angel?" I rolled my eyes.

"Remember last time? Nudge snored so much she got a sore throat, Angel bruised my rib, accidentally, from kicking in her sleep, and in the morning they gave my a makeover. I don't think so!" Fang smiled reminiscently.

"I see your point, then. Okay, I don't mind. Johnny, you good?" He nodded. Again. Jeez, he was worse than Fang! With the new plan in mind, I redistributed the cards.

"Okay. We'll meet down at the complementary breakfast in the morning, around nine." We all tapped fists, except Johnny and Angel, and then wandered to our rooms. Fang dropped off Angel in hers before returning to the room where I was already in the shower. This was my favorite part about hotels!

I was standing in the steamy water when I noticed that the water circling around the drain was slightly pink. I looked down. Yep. Looks like I got my period again. It was always at the most inconvenient time! Ugh. I peered through the swirling mist at my crusty clothes on the floor. Uh-oh. My underwear was bloody. Looks like I had some laundry to do. I sighed and stepped out of the heavenly downpour, then threw my clothes into the deserted/still-running shower. I stood by the side and rinsed my clothes until they were waterlogged and clean. Perfect.

I rummaged around for some complimentary pads or something before the blood running down my leg reached the floor. Success! I shoved the pad in between my legs and surveyed the scene. Clean, very wet clothes. Check! Semi-bloody bathroom. Check! Pajamas and underclothes. No check. Looks like I might need some help . . .

"Fang!!!" I wailed. He answered from right outside the door.

"Yeah?"

"Um, can you get Nudge? Please?"

"Uh, sure." I heard him pad away. I waited.

"Max? What do you need?" Nudge's voice called. I wrapped a towel around myself and answered.

"Come in." She walked in and surveyed the scene for herself.

"So, do you have an extra pair of clean underwear or something? Maybe some pajamas? You went shopping last week, right?" She shook her head apologetically.

"I don't have any clean shirts or pants, but I'm pretty sure I have some extra bras and underwear, though. Let me check. I'll be right back!" She flew out of the bathroom, leaving me waiting. Again. Have I mentioned I'm an impatient person? She got back a minute later and handed me a bundle, then she whispered.

"You should see Fang's face. He's utterly _perplexed."_ Uh-oh. I wondered how much he guessed.

"I'm going to go ask Fang for a shirt and shorts for you. Have you noticed he has an uncanny amount of black clothing?" She shook her head and left once more. I unwrapped the bundle, and found a pushup bra along with some underwear. Purple underwear. I sighed and stepped into them. They were a little tight on my crampy stomach, but it was better than nothing. Next the bra. It fit around my ribs nicely, but the cup size was a little small. The result was a _lot _of extra hanging out. It looked kind of good I guess, depending on your definition, but I was embarrassed. To think I had to room with _Fang_, and well, Johnny too. Oh well. Nudge came back in with a large, soft, plain black t-shirt and a pair of black shorts with pockets everywhere. I hadn't realized Fang had . . . _grown_ . . . so much. I adjusted the clothing until I was sure it would stay on, and walked out.

Nudge was already sleepwalking down the hall, poor baby. That left Fang, Johnny, and me in the room. Great.


	15. Chapter 15

_That left Fang, Johnny, and me in the room. Great. _

Johnny was busy adjusting the blankets on the hotel cot, and Fang was in the chair by the window with the computer in his lap—probably updating his blog. Neither of them had spotted me yet, so I decided to hang up my wet clothes on the back of the bathroom door. When I was in there, I realized what a mess it was, and began to clean it up. Then I heard Fang call from outside the door.

"Max? It's been, like, a half an hour! You done yet?" I looked around.

"Yup. Just a sec." I grabbed a comb that was lying on the counter before stepping out. Stepping out nearly into Fang. Then we proceeded to do the_ I'm trying to get by you and you're in my way _dance. I stepped to my right, while Fang stepped to his left, etc. Eventually, I grabbed his hands in exasperation and pivoted us around. Can you say awkward? Fang didn't seem to be feeling it though. Instead, he grinned and kissed me briefly on the mouth before continuing into the bathroom.

I was surprised, but pleasantly so. I smiled at the closed door before turning towards Johnny and the rest of the room. Johnny was still trying to figure out the blankets on the cot, and I almost laughed. At least he missed the kiss. That would have been awkward. I sighed exhaustedly and belly flopped onto the queen-size bed. The bed that Fang and I would be sharing. It didn't bother me much, mostly because we'd been sleeping near each other, for like, our entire lives. Especially in the fall or spring—it can get _cold _outside. Those nights, the entire flock would sleep huddled together for warmth. And Fang was a _furnace! _Anyway . . . my eyes were drifting shut when they fluttered, and I saw Fang's computer lying on the table next to the window. Hmmm.

I sat up, grabbed it, and began to read. I didn't get very far, because I was interrupted by Fang, who had come out of the bathroom—wet. Wow, how did he have time to take a shower? It'd only been, like, three minutes. My thoughts were interrupted again when Fang lunged at me, trying to grab the computer from my hands. Key word: Trying. My instincts made me roll out of the way. It turned into a wresting match, sort of. He would lunge, and I would try to move away—holding the computer as far away from me as possible. Unfortunately for me, he was a _bit_ larger than me, so he ended up grabbing me around the waist. I leaned away from him, holding my arm with the computer out as far as it would go.

Now he leaned towards me—his long arm reaching at the computer. You don't have to major in physics to know what happened next. Clue: I leaned back, he leaned forward. Bam! We went tumbling to the floor. He ended up with the computer, despite my efforts. In my defense, I couldn't move very well in his baggy clothes. We were both laughing by the end.

Johnny was watching, dumbfounded the entire time. It turns out that in his mind angels don't wrestle over computers.

"What are you _doing?"_ He asked. Fang replied simply.

"I don't want Max to read my blog."

"Y-your blog? Her name's Max?"

"Um, yeah. Her name's Max. I'm Fang. Fang's blog ring a bell?" Johnny just stared incredulously for a moment.

"Your _Fang??? _From Fang's _blog??" _I wasn't surprised he had heard of it. Apparently, the entire world's youthful population was following it. Now Fang looked embarrassed. Turns out we have a fan on our hands.

"Uh, yeah."

"So, you're the . . . _flock???_"

"Mmm-hmm." I said, amused.

"So you're not my angels." Johnny stated the obvious.

"Nope." I said. Johnny looked like he realized his whole life was a lie.

"Jeez. Wow, I mean . . ."

"Lighten up! You're hanging with the _flock_ now, so be happy, 'kay? Obviously, we're not your angels, so get over it. Move on, to like, somewhere else? Are you sure you have absolutely _nowhere _to go?" He looked offended.

"Of course I don't—I already told you! I guess I could just be homeless . . ." Great. Now the pity card. Well, he'll have to learn that doesn't work with me.

"Well, good luck! I recommend hitchhiking somewhere warm, though. You could freeze." He just stared at me.

"Are you crazy? I can't do that! I was joking, sort of. Can't I just stay with you? I could even get _wings! _That would be so _cool!" _Fang cut him off.

"What if we take him to New York, then drop him with the Voice or something. The Voice is _all knowing, _right? So he should _know _where this kid could go." What is with Fang cutting Johnny a break? Whatever.

"We'll go over it with the rest in the morning, but it sounds fine to me. The only question is transportation." Fang and I both turned to inspect him—Johnny shifted uncomfortably.

"How much do you weigh?"

"Uh, like maybe, 100-110?" Fang and I nodded at each other. It was clear what had to be done.


	16. Chapter 16

**I totally forgot a disclaimer, so here it is: I do not own the flock. Sad, but true. However, the plot and Johnny are MINE! Okay, moving on. Thank you to my first reviewer: jaz719, and my most frequent and helpful reviewer: Jacob Black Ooft . . . Phitt. Thank you to the rest of my reviewers, too! Your help is greatly appreciated. If it's help. Compliments are nice, but suggestions are what I'm looking for . . . sorry, back to the story;**

_It was clear what had to be done._

Johnny was too heavy to be carried all the way to New York City, at least by us. We'd have to get a car somehow. Maybe a taxi? No—not enough room. We'd have to get a van or something, but how? This was of course unspoken in my head, so I thought I'd let the others in on my thought process.

"We need a van, or some kind of large vehicle. Do you happen to have one? Or know where we could get one?" I asked Johnny.

"We could steal one of the school's Driver's Ed. cars, maybe. I know they have them, but I don't know where. Somewhere in the school. Maybe the bus garage?"

"Hold on! Do you know where all this stuff is?" I asked. He nodded.

"Great, then we'll be able to take it from there. In the meantime, let's get some sleep. Fang, do you think one of us should stay up and keep watch?" He shook his head.

"No, I mean, even if we were attacked, we wouldn't have time to get the others. We might as well just get some rest while we can. Plus, the doors have good locks. We would at least be able to hear them trying to open the door before they broke it. And then the kids would hear the door splintering and get up. Same with the glass of the windows. We should be fine." Wow. That was well thought out. And long. Very long. Johnny seemed to be struggling with part of Fang's speech.

"At—tacked?? You mean . . . what?" Poor thing, he looked genuinely confused. Fang raised his eyebrows.

"So, you read my blog, know all about the flock, and yet don't know that we're in constant danger? Haven't you heard that we're being followed? Angel was actually captured at one point. They've tried to kill us. None of that sank in? I guess not. Well, anyway, we think they're taking a break for a while. We haven't been attacked in, like, a week. Right Max?" I nodded.

"Yup. About a week." I was enjoying watching Johnny's face turn from horror, to relief, to fright, and back again. But enough was enough. I was tired.

"Alright. Enough. I need sleep, and I need the lights off—now!" I was over-worked, tired, and hormonal. What do you expect? Johnny slipped into his cot without a word, and Fang rushed to turn off the lights. I nodded proudly, then sank into the pillows on the bed, pushing my feet under the covers. The lights turned off, and I felt Fang hop into bed next to me. Finally, some peace . . .

Or not. I was hot. Really hot. Fang was too, by the way he kept tossing, turning, and pushing the covers down. At about midnight, I got up and went to the bathroom to splash some water on my face. I didn't want to wake up the others by turning on the lights, but Eraser Max was probably back. Maybe I should use one of my questions for the Voice to figure out what this was all about. But not now. Plus, I already used my question . . . I was too disoriented to hold a thought for long. I stumbled back to bed. And right into Fang. I whispered fiercely.

"Jeez—keep to your own side of the bed, will you? You're all sprawled out!" He groaned.

"Yeah, 'cuz I'm hot. Is the heat on or something?"

"Nope, it's just us." I said.

"You too?" He asked.

"Yup. I would go for a fly with you to cool off, but then we'd have to find a way out, and I'm too tired."

"Yeah, me too." He sighed. I thought occurred to me.

"Hey! Remember the last time his happened to me? I got a new power! And we shared blood. Maybe you'll start getting my powers or something. I wonder what my new power will be . . . If I get one. We'll see." It was quiet for a moment, before Fang spoke.

"That would be cool. Speaking of cool, I'm feeling better. You?" I was too tired to answer properly.

"Mm-hmm." And that was that. We both fell asleep, and didn't wake up until the morning. (And, no. It wasn't raining and I didn't bonk my head. It would have been ironic, but no.)

My eyes fluttered open—a result of the morning sun shining directly into them. Jeez. Someone should have closed the shades. Whatever. I rolled over, thinking I could maybe go back to sleep. Of course I couldn't, once I saw that Fang was shirtless, and, better yet, asleep. That meant that I could stare without him smirking at me. Speaking of Fang's facial expressions, he looked as if he were concentration on something. Hard. I remembered when he was younger; he would look so innocent and peaceful when he slept. Now—not so much. If nothing else he looked even _hotter_ now. Sigh. He started shimmering, strangely enough. I was worried, until I realized he was just going invisible because he was lying so still.

He faded completely, until I could no longer see his gorgeous body. Something had to be done. I gently tugged where I remembered his hair to be, but only a lock of it showed up. Hmm. How to move his whole body so I could see him? Wake him up, of course. I leaned over him, and kissed him slowly on the mouth. He started kissing back, and then his eyes popped open. He tensed up, and his whole body appeared. Perfect. Then I realized I was kissing a shirtless Fang. In bed. I smiled wonderingly.

"Good morning, gorgeous." He smirked.

"Good morning, beautiful." I suddenly remembered Johnny. I whipped my head around in search of him. He was sprawled out, motionless on the cot. Phew. As I turned back to Fang, the digital clock caught my eye.

"Only seven? We have two hours before we have to be downstairs." I said to Fang. He grinned.

"Why, yes! We do." He seemed excited. We'll, let's put that energy to good use.

"I guess we have time for a backrub?" He peered at me suspiciously.

"Whose?" He asked. I laughed.

"Whose do you think?" I said as I turned over. Hmm. Whatever bad qualities Fang has, they're all made up for in his hands. I heard him sigh, but then I felt his hands work their magic over my back. Yes! Five minutes later they stopped. I propped myself up on my elbows and glared at him. He just flopped over onto his stomach, and said,

"My turn." I almost growled, but then I realized it was an opportunity to run my hands over his body. Who would refuse? As I lightly brushed my fingers over his skin, I noted the scars and bruises scattered over his back. Yikes! It looks like he was caught from behind more than once. I had never really seen my own back, but it was probably similar. I stopped the backrub as a thought occurred to me. Now it was Fang's turn to growl. I laughed.

"Hold your horses. I had an idea. What if we practiced fighting, now? We still have, like, almost two hours. I like the idea of getting better. Plus, if we're going to be driving today, we'll need this exercise." He groaned, but nodded and rolled out of bed. Let the games begin!


	17. Chapter 17

_Let the games begin!_

We both went around the room, moving the furniture so we could have more space to fight. The problem came when we got to Johnny on the cot.

"Uh . . . lets just drag it over there and see if he wakes up. If he does, it's not that big a deal anyway." I said while gesturing to a clear corner of the room. Fang nodded. He pushed and I pulled until I was backed into a corner. Wow—not very bright, but after all, it is early in the morning. Fang chuckled.

"Um, excuse me? Let me out now?" I only asked because he wasn't moving. Ugh!

"Consider this your first test." He said mischievously. Jeez—boys. Whatever. It wasn't a very fair test, considering I couldn't fly out, but whatever.

"Fine. Just stop trying to crush my feet." I said. He looked confused, until he realized that he had never stopped trying to push me into the wall. He blushed, and the pressure stopped. Interesting . . . but I had other things to worry about. I bunched my muscles and jumped into the air, my feet landing on the edges of the cot. Johnny was still unconscious. Man, the boy could sleep! It was kind of weird, having his head in between my feet. I decided to just get out of the situation.

I did one of those fancy moves that are completely impractical, but a lot of fun to do. I did a cartwheel. I launched forward, my feet flying through the air as my hands guided me across the cot. Johnny would probably wake up, but the opportunity was too much to resist. My feet began their descent, and knocked Fang backwards by hitting him squarely in the chest. Ha ha! Whoops! The momentum I needed to knock him backwards threw off my balance, and I landed with a thump right on top of Johnny.

If he wasn't awake before, he definitely was now. His eyes popped open, and for the first time I realized that they were a startling green. He was actually kind of cute, if you looked past the weirdly gray clothes and moppish dirty blond hair. It was strange—almost as if time had slowed down. I could feel his heart beating underneath my fingertips, and my body rose and fell with his breath. Even though my heart was Fang's, it was strangely romantic. That shocked me, and I quickly straightened up.

In the meantime, Fang was watching the whole thing unfold. Whoops, indeed. He was fuming. Was it _that _obvious that Johnny and I had a moment? I hoped not. I took a few steps toward Fang.

"Hey—relax. It was an accident. He was asleep for goodness' sakes! And, if I do recall, you were the one who trapped me in that situation." With each word, I edged closer. Soon I was standing right in front of Fang. I balanced on my tiptoes, and wrapped my arms around his neck. My fingers twirled the hair at the base of his neck, and my eyes smoldered into his. I did everything I could without kissing him. Fang shook his head, looking almost pained. As if he was trying to resist a strong current.

Eventually, his arms circled around my waist and he snaked his head down to my level. I rested my forehead against his and sighed. I was content to stay like that, but Fang's lips soon found mine. It wasn't a ferocious kiss, but more like an I'm-sorry-and-I-hope-you-forgive-me kiss. It turned into something else halfway through. I was having fun, and I wanted more. My tongue slipped into his mouth, and his hands started creeping up my shirt. I didn't care, because I wanted to show him that I trusted him, and I wouldn't run away anymore. Only an awkward cough from Johnny could have stopped the train in its tracks. Which it did.

Johnny was now sitting on the edge of his bed, looking embarrassed.

"I guess the blog didn't lie—you guys finally are together. That's too bad, you know, because my sister Julia was ready to marry you, Fang." Johnny said, laughing uncomfortably. Fang didn't break our locked gazes when he spoke.

"Yeah, well you'd better tell her I'm taken." I smiled.

"Yes. Yes, you are." The idea was still so new and wonderful . . . Wait! I almost forgot!

"Hold on! It's seven thirty, and we still have time to fight. You ready?" I asked Fang while getting into fighting position. He held out his hand, and beckoned me with his fingers—just like in The Matrix. I laughed, and I could tell he was grinning internally. I saw Johnny still sitting on the cot, his eyebrows raised questioningly. I didn't have time to explain, and he would figure it out soon enough. I was focused on Fang—watching for signed of where he would attack. I grew impatient, and lunged at him myself.

He was ready, and sidestepped my attempt at tripping him. I was unbalanced temporarily, and Fang took advantage. He grabbed my wrist and folded it up behind my back, so that if I tried to resist, my wrist would break. I flailed, and swung my fist at him. He caught it deftly. Great—now he has both my hands. I could kick him, but I was hoping it wouldn't come to that. Whatever. Desperate times call for desperate measures. My foot flew and landed hard in between his legs. His mouth opened in a silent yell, and his fingers slackened. This was the opening I was looking for, so I wrenched my hands free, and pushed him to floor.

Fang's legs shot out and tangled in mine, bring me to the floor beside him. The problem was that we had reached the limits of our fighting area, and my face was nearing collision with a corner of a table that was backed up against the wall. Whoops! As images of my face being stitched up in a hospital flew through my head, all I could think was, **NOOO!!!** Two point five milliseconds before I hit the table, I stopped in midair.


	18. Chapter 18

_Two point five milliseconds before I hit the table, I stopped in midair. _

Nothing was holding me up—I felt frozen. I blinked a few times, and then gradually the rest of my body could move. My feet hit the floor, and I stood up cautiously. What had happened?? My eyes searched the room until they found Johnny. He was motionless. It was almost as if he was stopped mid-motion or something. Weird. I continued rotating until I found Fang. He was moving, but seemed as bewildered as I was. I spoke.

"What the crow was that? I was falling, and then I stopped. And now Johnny is frozen, or something. You felt it, right?" Fang nodded.

"Uh, yeah. That was weird. And wait—what happened to Johnny?" His eyes slid past me and landed on where Johnny was still motionless on his cot.

"Whoa. Creepy. Is he even alive??" I shrugged and moved towards Johnny. He didn't move. I waved my hands in front of his face. He still didn't move. I poked his chest, and he fell backwards—but he didn't come back to life. Not that he was dead. I had absolutely no idea.

_Hey Angel! What's going on with Johnny's thoughts right now? He's completely . . . weird! Like, lifeless or something. _Silence. Oh, no. Angel wasn't answering. I had a bad feeling.

"Fang, I just tried to talk to Angel, and she's not answering."

"Yeah, I figured that out. Maybe she's frozen too."

"Maybe—let's go check." I strode out of our room and into the hotel hallway. There was a man and a woman in their bathing suits who looked as if they were frozen just as they came back from the pool.

"Whoa—do you _see_ that, Fang? What if this is a new power?" He shrugged.

"That would be cool. But what _is_ this power exactly? You make everyone in the world motionless??" Inspiration hit me.

"What if I can stop time!? That would make sense—let's check the clock." Fang stopped me with his arm.

"No, it doesn't make sense. Because _I'm _not stopped." Oh. Well, then.

"Just look at the GDed clock anyway. Maybe you're not frozen because we shared blood, or we have the same power. Remember how we both got hot last night? Well, maybe . . . I don't know." This whole time I had been walking back in the room and towards the clock. I sat down at the edge of the bed (where Fang silently joined me) and counted in my head. Once I got past sixty seconds and the number on the clock stayed the same, I jumped up and pounded the air with my fist.

"Yes! I knew it! I _can _stop time. _I _can stop _time. I can stop time!!!_" Fang looked alarmed.

"I wonder if _I_ can stop time. Or if you can _un_freeze it." He wondered thoughtfully. Oh. That was a good question. Then, another thought occurred to me.

"_Fang! _Guess what?! You and I are the only two people in the world right now, that can move at least. This means we can't be interrupted! We can *talk* forever without a second going by!" My enthusiasm spread, and soon Fang's eyes were glinting with it. I lunged at him, and . . .


	19. Chapter 19

_I lunged at him, and . . . _

Kissed him on the mouth—briefly. Then I sank to the floor next to him, and sighed.

"This is _awesome!_ We could probably even destroy Itex by planting bombs in their buildings while time is stopped. This is such a cool power! Finally something exciting that we can do! Wait. _Can _you do it? Stop time, I mean. Or start it, for that matter." He shrugged.

"I could try." He said. He took a deep breath, and held still—his brow furrowed in concentration. Nothing happened. And more nothing happened. And suddenly, Johnny fell forward off his cot—fully alive and awake.

"Whoa. How did you guys get over there so fast? What happened?" He asked us. We both grinned, but I answered.

"It turns out we can stop and start time! I mean, I know we had lots of powers, but this is by far, the _coolest!_" I was slightly breathless from my discovery and the kiss. Fang was quiet next to me—considering how to use this new power effectively, most likely. Johnny seemed confused.

"You have _powers_? You can stop _time??_ Is this literal or like, some kind of joke?" I glanced at Fang. He apparently had not posted the details of our flock on his blog.

"Well, yeah." I said. "It's part of the genetic deal some crazy scientists invented. We get awesome super-natural powers randomly. Angel can read and control minds, for instance. She can also breathe underwater and change her appearance. We all have abilities like that, and Fang and I just learned we can stop time." Johnny looked astonished, and amazed.

"Wow. Cool." I nodded. It would be even cooler, however, if it didn't mean scientists hunted us 24/7. Sigh. Moving on—if I dwelled on the negative aspects of my life, I would probably kill myself. I heaved myself off the floor, and addressed Fang.

"Why don't we just fight outside later, where there's more space. Plus, I'm tired and hungry now, anyway." He nodded agreeably, then laughed.

"Yeah, we might even want to get a head-start on that breakfast before the flock gets down there and clears them out." I smiled, too.

"Good point. Okay—I'm going to change. I'll be right back." I grabbed my pack off the floor, and changed into some semi-clean clothes. I wore the shirt that I had been avoiding because it was uncomfortably tight. It used to be one of my favorites, but now it was a _pinch _too small. It showed about an inch of my flat stomach, and outlined my formed bust. I covered as much as I could with my straggly dirty blonde hair. Whatever—it was the only clean thing in my pack. I strode out of the bathroom, only to be smacked in the face by Fang's outstretched wing.

"What are you _doing??"_ I brought out my scolding voice. Fang looked sheepish.

"Uh . . . stretching?" He looked scared—probably more from my tone than the crime itself. Johnny stepped forward.

"I just wanted to see his wings. They're awesome, dude! I mean, I saw 'em last night, but it was dark. So, I'm sorry. It was my fault." I almost laughed at how scared they were of me. No matter how close any of us got, I was the leader. Hooray for me.

"It's okay, guys. No harm done." I was about to continue, but my voice was stopped as I felt a familiar tingling in my nose. Uh-oh. My eyes widened, and I backed away from the confused boys.

"Hah. Hah! Ha-CHOOOOO!!!" I sneezed and my whole body convulsed—my wings jerked out of my shirt and spread across the room—miraculously not smacking into anything. I waited to make sure the sneeze-attack was over before I straightened up and pulled in my wings. I saw Fang and Johnny doubled over in laughter. Fang was the first to recover.

"We . . . should . . . have, ha! Caught that, ha ha ha, on tape!" I blushed a little. I really didn't see what the big deal was, though. The whole flock looked ridiculous when they sneezed, granted—it wasn't very often. I hoped I wasn't getting sick. I decided to end my humiliation by giving them both my famous death-glare. I could make them simultaneously fear and respect me with a single glance. Ah, the power I wielded! Now . . . how to distract them?

"Hey, guys! Time for breakfast, yeah? Let's go." They both looked as if the "must find food" switch had just been turned on. Now, I was a bird-kid, who ate twice as much as the average adult, and I understood hunger. However, there was something weird about boys and food. Even Nudge who was _always _hungry never quite reached their level of . . . hypnotization. They forgot what they were laughing at and trotted instinctively out the door and down to the lobby. Using the stairs, of course. We had an unspoken agreement to never go near an elevator again. I smirked at them, and followed them down. After all—I was hungry too. As the three of us neared the dining area, I spotted a table piled high with food. However, that was not what caught my attention. It was the people surrounding the table. My people. My flock. I raised my eyebrow and approached them.

"Iggy, Gazzy, Angel, and Nudge!" They whirled around—surprised. Only Iggy and Angel had a few extra seconds to realize we were there. Now they all looked guiltily at me.

"Having an early-morning snack, are we?" Nudge opened her mouth.

"Well, I know you said to meet here at nine and it's only seven thirty, but we figured we'd get a head-start before the crowd (or you) got here. But you're being a bit of a hypocrite, don't you think? At least I think that's the right word. I mean, you're mad at us for coming down here but you did the same thing. So don't blame us. But if you are going to blame us you should blame Angel because she coordinated this treacherous deed. Seriously. She was all, like, _we should get food before they wake up. _And I was all, like, _I think we should just do what Max told us. _And then she woke up Iggy and Gazzy with her mind, and they liked the idea, too. So you see, I was overruled. It wasn't my idea. I—." I silenced her with a look and an amused smile.

"Nudge—it's not cool to lie to me—I know your plan. That's because that's what we were trying to do, too. I'm not mad. All's fair in food and war, right?" I chuckled, and sat down. The flock followed suit, and eyed me nervously for a while, before falling back into chatter. Was I really acting so out of character? Must be those darned hormones. Again. I decided it was time to bring up Johnny's situation with the flock.

"So—you all know how Johnny was supposed to stay the night?" The flock nodded, but kept quiet.

"Well, we thought that since he doesn't have anywhere to go, we could bring him with us until New York. Sound good?" Nudge was the first to finish thinking. Of course.

"But he doesn't have wings! How could he come with us? Unless we brought a car, or something, but that would be super slow! And I don't want to go on another airplane! I guess we could carry him, but he looks kind of heavy. Plus, you know, I don't think he'd be able to breathe up where we fly anyway. We could just like, give him money. But that doesn't solve a lot of his problems. You all could go ahead, though, and one of us could go with him behind you all. I could stay, and like, go in a car with him or something while y'all go to New York. But I don't know how to drive . . ." I rolled my eyes—exasperated.

"Did it occur to you that we might already have a plan? We're going to get a van or something and we'll all drive. The Voice didn't give me a time limit. In fact, it didn't even tell me to go to New York. This is our own mission, and we can take as long as we like. He's coming with us." Nudge looked happy at that last part. I wonder why? Whatever. The only problem was; where to get the car?

"So, any ideas on where we could steal a car? Preferably that no one will miss." Johnny was about to bring up his school car idea again, but was swiftly overrun by none other that Nudge herself.

"Well, couldn't you just make one out of thin air?" This gave us all pause for a moment. How come I didn't think of that? It was my power, after all. I still wasn't quite sure what I could do with it, but creating a car seemed within my abilities.

"Smart girl."


	20. Chapter 20

Okay, so I've been nice about not begging for reviews, right? Maybe this gave people the impression I don't care about getting them. Of course I do! Every author does! However, out of courtesy I generally just get on with the story, hoping someone is enjoying it. But chapter 19 was my longest ever. And nobody reviewed!!! I'm miffed.

And sorry about calling this a chapter. But I don't have time to right one. Actually, I did, but it was in the middle of a HUGE thunderstorm (can you see where this is going?) and the power went off—all my work down the drain. And now (well, in a few minutes) I'm leaving for France. France! I'm so excited!

On a side note—do I have any readers from France? 'Cause that would be so cool! And now I'm rambling officially. Sorry. I guess I don't need to tell you what I want before the next chapter comes up . . . but in case you're clueless, it's REVIEWS! Thanks. Over and out.


	21. Chapter 21

"_Smart girl." _

So that's exactly what we did—Johnny led us back to the ally where we found him, and I _created_ a dark green minivan. We eventually came to the conclusion that I could create, not duplicate, like we had thought at first. Fang ended up driving after much . . . debating. His argument was that we didn't want another situation like last time. I couldn't argue with that. So we all hopped in, and started off toward New York City.

Key word: Started. We stopped a million times for food, bathroom breaks, breakdowns, directions, etc. Directions? You ask? Well, I'll tell you. Roads do not go in a straight line. Our internal guidance systems direct us in straight lines. Thus, utter confusion. We ended up in Mansfield, Ohio—surrounded by people waiting to get a glimpse of some wax figures posed in religious scenes. Apparently, we had followed the wrong signs. Considering none of us could read properly (except Johnny who had no concept of geography) we pretty much just had to rely on instincts. Which, like I said, brought us to Mansfield, OH. I decided to try to contact the Voice.

_Hello? Voice, you there? We're kind of lost here. Any suggestions? . . . I guess not. Now I feel stupid. Well, then. Be that way. _The Voice still hadn't answered, and I was getting desperate without a plan. I waited for one of my famous snap-decisions to come to me, but none did. Okay, time for problem solving. I turned to the Flock.

"Okay, so the Voice has no suggestions, and we're officially lost since we're not in the sky. Johnny's too heavy to carry, so unless we leave him, we have to keep going by car. And . . . that's about it. Ideas?" Everyone looked surprised that I would ask for opinions, but hey. They might as well learn to figure things out for themselves, with a bonus of giving me a break. Sweet. Fang looked content to let everyone else figure it out, but the rest of the flock (including Johnny) had their faces screwed up in concentration. Eventually Iggy spoke up.

"What if we don't go to New York? I mean, we could just use one of our questions to get the voice's name. Why do we actually need to meet him in person?" Hmm. I answered this one.

"Well, I want to go to New York and meet the Voice. And by the way, who said it was a guy anyway? I guess we could have a vote to see if we should go. I didn't really ask you all in the first place, so I'm sorry. Vote?" Everyone nodded. I noted that now we had an odd number of people, so there wouldn't be the ties there used to be.

"Okay—me first. I want to go to New York City and meet the voice. You next." I pointed to Fang.

"Uh, me too. I guess. New York." I was glad I had someone on my side. Well, it could have been that death glare I sent him . . . Angel interrupted my thoughts.

"Well, I want to go to Dr. M's. That was the plan before, and I thought that's what we all wanted to do. And I haven't changed my mind. So there. Like, why do we even need to see the Voice anyway? I like Iggy's idea of just using one of the questions." Iggy voted next.

"Yeah. I think I'd rather go to Dr. M's too. Sorry Max." I just shook my head and looked to Gazzy, who seemed to be chatting internally with Angel. Uh-oh. He suddenly cackled maniacally, and immediately agreed with Them.

"Oh yeah. Count me in for going to Dr. M's!" I can only imagine what Angel said to him. Now I need Nudge on my side. I looked to her, and she shrugged.

"I think I want to go to New York. I mean, there are a million places to shop, and we all need stuff. Remember last time when we got makeovers? That was so much fun! Maybe we could do that again. Plus, seeing the Voice would be cool. And we could always just go to Dr M's after anyway. So, yeah." Yay! She agreed with me! Now it was Johnny's turn. He looked uncomfortable in the hot-seat. Oh well.

"Before I, uh, vote, I should probably know who Dr. M is." Oh, right. To all of our surprise, Fang spoke up.

"She's Max's mom. And she always let's us stay with her and stuff. So that's where we go when we have a break from Erasers and stuff. Plus side of being there is food, clothes, showers, and all that jazz. If we go to New York, we'll most likely be eating out of dumpsters, and sleeping outside." Johnny looked surprised.

"Hmm. Well, dumpster diving doesn't sound good, but we _could _go to Dr. M's later, like Nudge said, and I think that we should go to New York because it sounds important." Interesting vote. Well, I'm not complaining. Now we get to go see the Voice!

"Alrighty folks! Looks like we're going to New York. Now the problem is transportation. I don't think we can drive. That useless GPS thing is driving me crazy! Ideas?" Nudge was (of course) the first one to speak up.

"Well, I don't want to drive either, and I know you said flying wasn't an option, but what if we found a way to share his weight? I mean, we are inhumanly strong, and we have carried Total before. How much difference can there be?" Her face. Along with Angel's, suddenly fell as they remembered how Total chose to stay with Akila. A picture of Johnny in a hammock carried by two of the flock drifted into my brain. Hmm. A slight variation might actually work.

"Okay, we can try that. We just have to fly higher to avoid suspicion. I have a funny feeling that birds carrying large objects isn't exactly common." Everyone nodded.

"Alright! Let's do this!"


	22. Chapter 22

**If three cats catch three mice in three minutes how many cats would be needed to catch 100 mice in 100 minutes?**

"_Let's do this!"_

We ended up carrying Johnny in a sleeping bag because it's easy to fly with, and it solved his heat issue. (High=cold). Now we could fly to New York City relatively uninterrupted. Fang, Iggy, Nudge, and I took turns partnering to share Johnny's weight. First to carry him was Iggy and I. We flew in silence—mostly. I couldn't help but notice that throughout the flight, the weight I was carrying gradually lessened, until it barely felt like I was carrying anything at all. I snuck a glance at Iggy, and sure enough, he had shifted Johnny into a position so that Ig was shouldering nearly all the weight. Why, I have no idea. Well, maybe he was trying to prove how strong he was, or some equally ridiculous concept teenage boys seem apt to take hold of. Eventually, I snapped at his logic.

"What do you think you're doing? You're going to be exhausted before we even get halfway there! The point of sharing weight is _sharing. _Didn't anybody teach you how? Naw, just joking. I did—obviously. But seriously, I can handle it. When I can't we'll just switch, got it?" He nodded ashamedly. Well, he should. Why on Earth would he do that? Whatever. I won't even try to comprehend the male mind. Although Fang and I seemed to be in synch lately . . . no. I won't go down that road—I always ended up confused and upset. And I needed to be alert. Have vigilance! Speaking of vigilance . . . I squinted with my hawk-vision towards the source of smoke coming up through the clouds.

"Hey Gazzy! Check that out!" I said, motioning to the smoke. He swooped down through the cloud layer, only to appear seconds later with news.

"It's a fire. A forest fire maybe? The fire department is there, and a couple other people." I looked around at the rest of the flock. Should we help? How could we? If the FD was there, they probably had it under control . . . but there might be hikers in the woods! Or they might need our help somehow—superhuman strength, maybe? I looked to Fang for decisiveness. He shrugged, meaning: _your call._ Fine. Let's go.

"Let's check it out guys—see what's going on. Iggy, could you switch with Fang? It's probably easier to land solo for you. If you want." He looked slightly offended that I thought Fang could land better with Johnny and I, but reconsidered when he realized it was probably true. Fang overheard, and swooped in so he and Iggy could switch places. We followed the rest of the flock towards the gathering below us—careful to avoid the smoldering flames and smoke.

**I'm so sorry for the uber-short chapter! I have no original excuses, so I'm going to spare you the list. Does anyone speak gibberish out there? Please review/PM if you do. Tell me what you think of doing a riddle in each chapter, too. Is having the answer in the same chapter too easy? Should I post the answer in the next one? And do you guys just want to read the story, or are y'all interested in the A/Ns? **

The same three cats would do. Since these three cats are averaging one mouse per minute given 100 minutes the cats could catch 100 mice.


End file.
